BlockBefore

Melvin, California

22 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1923 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Fresno census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93612. The Survey maps it on the Clovis quadrangle. It stands 358 feet above sea level.

Melvin within Fresno County

Then and now

1923 to 1982

The same ground, surveyed 59 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Melvin, surveyed 1982
Topographic sheet of Melvin, surveyed 1923

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 22 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

712 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 712 fires within 5 miles of Melvin between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,003 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 56 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined424
Equipment and vehicle use115
Arson/incendiarism56
Misuse of fire by a minor45
Debris and open burning40
Smoking25
Power generation/transmission/distribution5
Natural1
Recreation and ceremony1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFresno-Kings Unitnot named
9 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
9 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
9 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.1 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
8 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
8 September 2009Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresFresno-Kings UnitPOWER
8 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
8 September 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFresno-Kings UnitFKU 11182

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Fresno County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Melvin: 2 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Granite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Hans Sumpe Pit and MillClayProducer
Raymond Quarry Plant No. 2GraniteProducer

Every working recorded in Fresno County

Storms near this place

16 since 2008

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Melvin in 16 storm reports between 2008 and 2025: 10 heavy rain, 6 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
December 2025Heavy RainMelvin-Storm total is 2.75 inches.
November 2025Heavy RainMelvin-Spotter reported storm total of 1.54 inches.
January 2023FloodMelvin-Public report of a large tree washed up on N. Ranger Ave. blocking all lanes north of E. Bullard Ave.
January 2023FloodMelvin-California Highway Patrol reported a tree washed up on the roadway on the northbound lane of Locan Ln. near Paul Ave.
February 2023Heavy RainMelvin-Public report in Clovis of measured rainfall of 1.53 inches of rainfall inches of rainfall on February 24 and an additional 1.68 inches during the morning of February 25 for a total of 3.21 inches.
March 2023FloodMelvin-N. McCall Ave. was closed north of E. Shaw Ave. due to flooding.
October 2021Heavy RainMelvin-A trained spotted reported heavy rainfall for almost two hours in north Fresno and Clovis with ponding of water reported on several roadways.
December 2019FloodMelvin-A trained spotted reported minor road flooding from heavy rain in Clovis along Shaw Ave.
March 2018Heavy RainMelvin-A trained spotter measured 0.91 inches of rainfall between 900 pm on March 21 and 700 am on March 22 with periods of heavy rain during this time frame.
January 2017Heavy RainMelvin-Trained Spotter reported a 24 hour rainfall total of 0.25 inches near Clovis in Fresno County.
January 2017FloodMelvin-Broadcast Media reports road flooding due to heavy rainfall near intersection of Barstow Avenue and Armstrong Avenue in Clovis.
January 2017FloodMelvin-Public reported road closures due to road flooding near Armstrong Avenue and Bullard Avenue in Clovis.
December 2016Heavy RainMelvin-Spotter report of 24 hour rainfall total of 0.49 inches.
February 2014Heavy RainMelvin-One inch of new rainfall in Clovis.
January 2014Heavy RainMelvin-Twenty four hour storm spotter rainfall of 0.60 inch in Clovis.
November 2008Heavy RainMelvin-A strong thunderstorm produced 0.36 inches of rainfall in only 10 minutes. Minor street flooding was reported by a trained NWS spotter in the Clovis area. Clogged storm drains may have contributed to the street flooding. No damage was reported.

Every storm recorded in Fresno County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Tarpey Village1.1 miles22
Clovis1.2 miles22
Tarpey1.4 miles22
Glorietta2.1 miles22
Vanris (historical)2.3 miles22
Cameo3.0 miles22
Bronge (historical)3.2 miles22
Fort Camp (historical)3.4 miles22

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on MelvinAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q6813918The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 252736. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.